Warden-Commander Gothic - Witch Hunt
by gothicjedi666
Summary: A short story covering what takes place during the Witch Hunt DLC for Warden Gothic.


**Author Notes**

I wanted to take a break from my other stories, however rather than start something new or try to add to an old story I decided instead to write a short story. Its only a bit more than ten thousand words, but I figured that it was just long enough to make it worth while sitting down to read.

Also many thanks to Takao-kun for his notes, I was able to greatly improve this story with them.

 **Warden-Commander Gothic - Witch Hunt**

 **Vigil's Keep**

My life wasn't what it had once been. Not long ago I'd been a mighty warrior and a great leader during a time of war. Now I spent my days dealing with the lords and ladies of the Arling of Amaranthine, while always trying to bolster the strength of the Grey Wardens within Felderan.

That was most likely why the Spirit of Leadership had left me, or at least part of the reason. I figured that perhaps the Spirit was needed elsewhere, that it was someone else's turn to be the champion this world needed. Whoever they were I wished them luck. They would need it.

At times like this when I had a few moments to sit upon my throne and think I often thought back to the Blight. In some ways life had been simpler then. Sure a lot of people had been trying to kill me, and I'd not had a fraction of the resources I had now, but at least I'd had the option of killing the people who wanted to hurt me. These days I had be sneaky about it, and employ agents to do my dirty work.

I sighed and stared down at my hands. I had some scars on them, but not as many as I should have given all the fights I'd gotten into. The only things apart from the scars worth looking at were the rings that adorned my fingers. Both of them appeared to wedding rings, and in a meaningful sense they were.

Grey Wardens were much like mages in some regards. We were unable to hold any title not given to us by the throne, and we held no ranks outside our own order, and those titles we had were not normally passed on to any heirs. Somehow that seemed to have escaped the understanding of many nobles who had wanted to increase their own standing by having me marry one of their daughters or younger sisters.

I'd been able to refuse those offers until King Alistair had passed a royal decree which had declared that all unmarried adult nobles had to marry another noble who was native to Felderan. He'd had good reasons for decree, far to many powerful men had wed foreign women and this made many important people worry that they were going to end up being ruled by foreigners.

Given that I was only a noble by rank and a Grey Warden I should have been allowed to remain single, but Alistair had written to me personally and had ordered me to marry. No doubt that been his revenge for me arranging his 'happy' marriage to the current queen.

I'd chosen Mhairi, a fellow Grey Warden, to be my wife as she had been a knight, and therefore a noble, albeit of low rank. It hadn't been a true marriage I'd just wanted to avoid a partnership with some spoilt brat who had manipulative relatives.

Naturally I would have preferred to marry Leliana, decree or not, alas I'd lost her to the Chantry. Not even Warden-Commander Gothic, the Hero of Felderen, Dragon Slayer, and Champion of the Grey could compete with the Maker.

Leliana had visited a few times, back before the royal order had forced me to get married, but she'd never really come to see me. Sure she'd shared my bed, however it had always been about gaining my aid in some way.

My slaying the Arch-Demon without dying was seen as the work of the Maker by many, so my support of the current Divine was important to those who really ran the Chantry.

It had been somewhat strange at first for Mhairi and I since we'd only married to avoid having some noble woman getting in the way, which had made the wedding night more than a little awkward. Then not long after we'd gotten comfortable with the arrangement she had died defending Vigil's Keep from the army the Mother had sent.

The other ring was the one that Morrigan had given me. This ring looked plain enough, but it came with a special enchantment. As long as I wore it the Witch would not only know where I was, she would also know how I was doing. The ring had a twin that she wore, and had I been a mage I would be able to sense Morrigan just as she could sense me.

Around my neck I wore my Warden's Oath. Normally all Grey Wardens received one of these amulets after their Joining. They served as a constant reminder of the Warden's eternal vigil against the darkspawn hordes, but none of the companions who had joined me at the Keep had gotten an amulet simply because no around here knew how to make them. I'd have to correct that oversight one day, that or have a mage enchant some special Grey Warden rings for the Wardens here and the warriors who fought with us.

Looking around I was unsurprised to find that I was alone aside from Oggy, who had his own special pillow throne right next to my very important seat. I was pretty sure that it was better taken care of than the fancy chair I sat on

Having Oggy on his pillow throne always allowed me to spot the foreigners when they entered my presence. All true blooded Fereldens approved of the pillow throne, and he never barked at those who stood before our thrones unless they were somehow a threat to me.

Oggy even had portrait made in his honour for helping me face down the Archdemon. Along with that he'd had the pleasure of fathering a dozen or more litters of pups, he was in high demand when it came time to breed more war hounds.

As for Oghren he, like Sigrun, was fighting for his people in the Deep Roads, but not together. Oghren was fighting with the Dwarven army were as Sigrun had gone off alone.

Anders and Justice had simply left one day, taking a few things with them. I knew exactly where they had gone and why, and while I could have stopped them I figured that the war between the Mages and the Templars would happen even without Anders blowing things up. Besides that was something the Champion of Kirkwall was going to have to deal with.

Nathaniel was still around and for that I was very grateful. He had a good head on his shoulders and being a former noble meant he was a big help in dealing with the stubborn high born cunts of the Arling of Amaranthine.

The young Warden had single handily saved Fergus Cousland from a group of darkspawn that had ambushed the Teryn's convoy. This had somewhat restored the friendship the Howe and Cousland family had enjoyed before the Blight and the betryal commited by Nathaniel's father.

King Alistair and Teryn Cousland had decided to reward Nathaniel, and he was now a Bannon, and as such he had his own lands to manage. His sister's children would inherit them one day since that title could be passed on unlike mine as it was an effort to restore the once honourable Howe family rather than a gift to the Wardens.

That only Nathaniel had remained in my service was no real surprise, none of the others had joined the Gary Wardens in order to be Wardens. They had all joined to fulfil their own goals.

Anders had been somewhat different. He had not asked to join the Gray Wardens; he had been conscripted by me. Despite knowing that he wouldn't stick around I'd still conscripted Anders because there had been doubt in my mind that the Templars would have killed him the first chance they got. Perhaps it would have been better if they had. The history books might say that, and perhaps they would blame me for not letting him hang.

"Commander? " a voice said.

I had just been thinking about Howe, and now he was here. That amused me somewhat.

"Nathan" I said, calling him by nickname I'd given him "What are you doing here?"

He was suppose to be staying with his sister and her husband in Amaranthine while his family's new castle was being built.

In fact there was a lot of rebuilding going on since I'd had the city burned. Thankfully for the people who lived in the city they'd been able to flee the Darkspawn attack using the smuggler tunnels. Plus the stone structures had survived the fire and that had greatly sped up the rebuilding efforts.

"While I was at the city a group of travelling merchants came to visit the inn, and they told me that they had come from the Korcari Wilds" I was informed "Which I guess means they were smuggling weapons to Chasind or whoever else it is who lives down there".

My authority didn't extend outside this the Arling unless it was a matter involving the Darkspawn, so I didn't know why Howe was telling me about some possible crooks whose crimes, if any, hadn't taken place on my lands. However I knew he wouldn't have come all the way to the Keep if it wasn't important, so I listened to what else he had to say.

"According to them while they were down there they ran into a Witch of the Wilds" Nathan then said.

If this was true then it meant that either Flemeth had reclaimed her home, or that Morrigan had returned to this part of the world.

My thoughts wandered back to that night in Redcliffe Castle where Morrigan and I had performed the old magic ritual that had allowed me to cheat death. Morrigan had been clever in ensuring that she would have her old god baby, she'd gone to Leliana and had gotten the Bard to convince me to have sex with the Witch in order to save my own life.

Which had resulted in a threesome, and it hadn't been the first time that Lee had gotten another woman involved in our sex life. I well remembered meeting Isabela while in Denurium. That pirate was very skilled with her mouth, she knew how to use to do more than talk her way out of trouble.

"They also told me that this Witch of the Wilds was your former lover and one of the people who helped you during the Blight" Nathan went on to say "Was this before or after Leliana?".

I pondered a little before answering.

"Before and sort of during" I said "Its a complex tale".

Wisely the man who was the closest thing I had to a best friend didn't ask any follow up questions. He just got on with what he had come here to say.

"Anyway the travellers stumbled upon an old hut in the middle of the Wilds and when they went to see if it would shelter them for the night a dark haired woman chased them off with magic" Nathan informed me "They stumbled around in the wilds for awhile before making it to Lothering and then they got back on the road. They just made to the city last night".

Dark hair and magical power pointed to Morrigan, but what was she doing back at Flemeth's Hut?

"I'd thought you'd want to know right away" Nathan was now saying "And I wish you luck in your journey".

He knew me well. I was already planning to go find Morrigan.

"No one would really blame you if you had enough of dealing with other people's problems and just went on a journey" my friend then said "It does mean that you will need a Warden to run things while your gone. The First Warden might send someone, but not right away, because they'll think you'll come back".

It was like he already knew I wouldn't return, and honestly I wasn't planning to. As for the First Wadren, Nathan was right, no one would be sent to replace me right away, and by the time it became clear that I wasn't coming back then Howe would have been Acting Warden-Commander long enough that there would be no need to replace him.

"Well you know how to handle to nobles" I reasoned "and you're involved in rebuilding, so I can't think of anyone would more qualified for job".

I got up off the throne.

"Good luck Acting Warden-Commander" I said to Nathan as I headed for my quarters "You'll need it".

I was going to pack as much as I could into my pouches of holding, don my dragon bone armour, pick up my magic sword and walk out of here. I knew that no matter what I would never sit on the throne again, and I was bloody glad of that. I was a man of adventure and battle, it was time to go back to doing the things I did best.

(Line Break)

 **The Wilds.**

It had been nearly two years since I'd last been here, but the hut still stood. There was smoke coming out of the small chimney and I could faintly smell something cooking which meant that Morrigan was either still here, or that she had left only a brief time ago. She might even be sitting inside the hut and cooking a meal for the both of us while waiting for me.

While we both had magical rings that were connected to each other I was no mage therefore I couldn't sense her through the link, however she would know that I was near. Perhaps that wasn't totally true, sometimes when I held the ring between my fingertips I could feel a sense of loneliness, but that might just be me projecting my own feelings.

My Mabari hound, Oggy, had come with me. He was as loyal to me now as he had been the day we had met. However just like his human he was getting old, our adventures and all those battles had taken a toll on us both. More so on him since I'd had the Spirit, at least until now, and dogs didn't live as long humans did. His breed could live for twenty years, however I had no idea how old Oggy had been when we'd first met.

Then again perhaps it had been all that sitting around in at the Keep that had made us seem like old timer. If so then getting out into the world again should do us some good.

I'd considered brining one of my hound's pups with me as a gift for my child, but Mabari chose their masters and mistresses, you couldn't force them to bound with a person.

"I'm glad you're here. I couldn't do this alone" I told the mutt.

Oggy whined, and licked my hand. Which I knew to be a signal that he needed to be comforted. With that in mind I scratched behind his ears and then gave him a biscuit.

"We'll find Morrigan" I promised "and if we're lucky she's in there making us some stew".

Upon hearing a mention of food, Oggy barked happily and at once rushed over towards the hut.

"You're a lot more eager than I am" I muttered.

To be honest I didn't even know why I was seeking the witch out. We'd parted on good terms all things considered, and despite having been romantically involved with Leliana I'd still performed the ritual with Morrigan to ensure that I didn't meant I had a child and that seemed rather important now that the world didn't need me to save it anymore, however while that was a valid reason to find Morrigan it wasn't really why I was here.

Once I had summoned up some courage my faithful hound and I entered the hut and Oggy growled. There was a Dalish woman, who held a deadly looking elven style blade in each hand, standing inside the hut.

"Stay away!" she ordered.

She was clearly a hunter as she wore armour and she had a bow along with a quiver full of arrows secure on her back. As for looks, she was a red head, so she would not doubt cause no end of trouble (Leliana being a good example) and also she had the facial markings that identified her as Dalish.

"What are you doing here?" the elf demanded to know.

She held the blades threateningly, but I was not worried. Even without the Spirit I had my magical armour, which had been a gift from Alexander the dragon god. Also while I didn't any of my weapons drawn I was an expert in hand to hand combat.

Plus Oggy would after a single word from me rip her apart. His eagerness to do so could be heard in the sounds he was currently making. A snarling war hound was an unsettling foe to face even for a seasoned warrior.

"Call off your hound!" she shouted.

I had my dragon helmet on so the elf woman couldn't even know if I was human or not, but clearly Oggy worried her more than I did. Which just went to show how fearsome the warhoud was.

"Easy there, boy" I urged.

Oggy backed off and at once the woman sheathed her blades.

"I am Ariane, of the Dalish people" she informed me "My keeper sent me to find Asha'bellanar. You might know her as the Witch of Wilds".

Slowly I took of my helmet so that she could see that I was a human, not that this would comfort most elves as they didn't to like other races. Still when she saw my face she gasped, which suggested she had some idea of who I was.

"My name is Gothic" I informed the elf woman "Commander of the Grey, the ruler of Vigil's Keep and the Arling of Amaranthine".

I had never gotten used to using the titles.

"Yes I know who you are" the elf replied.

With the needless introductions now out of the way I got the matter at hand.

"So you came here looking for Flemeth" I said "I met her here a couple of years ago at the start of the Blight, but I think she's moved on. I actually came here looking for her daughter".

The elf woman reacted to those words with more surprise, than she had upon hearing who I was.

"Then we have more in common than I would have expected" Ariane stated as she relaxed her stance "I pursue Morrigan as well. She has done a great injustice to my clan. Has she wronged you as well?"

That was not an easy question to answer.

"Let's just say she and I have unfinished business" was my reply.

I had no desire to lie, it was just that explaining the truth would take a while and it was better done somewhere more civilised.

"Morrigan stole an ancient book my clan has guarded since the days of Arlathan" Ariane then told me "We were the only ones with such a piece of our history. We have so little of it left".

The elf women then sighed.

"And Morrigan took even that" Ariane finished.

I wasn't shocked to hear this news. After all the witch had never been a good person.

"How do you know Morrigan stole it?" I wondered.

I didn't doubt that she had I was just wondering how they knew she'd been the one to steal the book. Morrigan could be sneaky when she wanted to be.

"A month ago, she visited our clan in the name of friendship, and took great interest in our history" the Dalish elf explained "She knew exactly what she was looking for".

I could see Ariane clenching her fists, and I knew the theft had hurt her personally.

"The keeper allowed her to see the book" the woman went on to say "Two nights later, it was gone".

That wasn't exactly proof, but given the timing a connection was more than possible, and therefore Morrigan was a valid suspect in this crime.

"What's so special about this book?" I asked.

I assumed it about some kind of magic given that Morrigan was mage, however that didn't help me much as there were kinds of magic in this world. If was something more dangerous than what was normal I needed to know.

"My keeper, says it was a treatise on something the ancients called 'Eluvian'. The word is as old as the book itself, and its meaning has been lost" I was told.

The word 'Eluvian' did mean something to me.

"I think its a kind of mirror" I said "a means of communication. I read that somewhere. I just can't remember the details".

At times like this I really missed not having access to Google.

"Please help me" the Dalish woman requested "The book of Eluvian was reclaimed for my clan by an elven mage, who stole it from the Circle of Magi before defecting. He said other similar treasures remain in the library, but they would never allow a Dalish to view them. Perhaps you can convince them to let us into their library".

I was sure I could, and her requesting my aid made sense as I was a friend to the Dalish. I'd saved them from the werewolves, and worked a deal which had resulted in one of their clans settling in the Wending Woods. They kept that part of the Arling I ruled safe for the merchants who passed through the area using the roads, and in exchange I gave them dominion over the words. Plus I made sure they got extra supplies such as tools and blankets.

"Very well. I'll help you get your book back, but leave Morrigan to me" I insisted "She's a powerful witch, she could end you with a word. If she needs to be killed I'll do the deed".

Ariane bowed her head.

"Ma serannas" she said "I look forward to working with you."

It appeared that even without the Spirit of Leadership I was still able to get people of different cultures to work together. On the other hand perhaps it was just my reputation that had convinced. Only time would tell if I was still a good leader, and only battle would let me know if I was still a great warrior.

(Line Break)

 **The Circle.**

We made good time to the Circle as Felderan was a safer place thanks to the hard work of King Alastair and people like myself. Still it had its share of troubles, thankfully none of which had effected Ariane and I on our journey.

This far south there no Grey Warriors or Grey Knights, which was what I had named the soldiers who served the Grey Wardens at Vigil's Keep. In this part of the kingdom it was Templars who kept people safe, and judging by how peaceful things were around the tower they seemed to be doing a good job.

No one objected to us taking a place on the ferry, which was now a proper boat due to the increased traffic provided by Alistair's easing of the restrictions on the Circle. These days scholars and other brainy types visited the mages in order to make use of their library, and to consulted other clever men.

I knew this as one of the subjects of important research was the Darkspawn. A few wise man studying the 'spawn had come to the Keep to consult Wardens and to make use of the library I had helped to put together.

Once inside the tower we were almost immediately stopped by a Templar. Which showed that while the king had given the Mages more freedom the Chantry was still doing its job.

Also there was some tension between the Templars and the Grey Knights as in the lands I ruled my elite warriors didn't just hunt the Darkspawn they also dealt with the odd demons that popped up and other dangers. This had more than once led to Templars complaining about Grey Knights getting the way.

Also they didn't like the fact that the Wardens I commanded had mages helping them who weren't Wardens as well. The Grey Mages, as they were known, used their magical talents to serve the Wardens, which they Chantry was okay with as it was a case of magic serving man rather than ruling him, but the Templars had always been a bit upset at there being so many mages outside of the Circle.

Fortunately I'd been able to somewhat smooth things over by inviting a few high ranking Templars to stay at the Keep and to join my warriors on patrol so they could learn how the two peacekeeping forces could work together. And I had agreed never to get involved in their hunting of rogue mages when on my lands.

"Welcome to Ferelden's Circle of Magi" one of the Templars greeted "Please keep your hound under control. Some of the apprentices are easily startled".

Given that most of the apprentices were children I was sure they'd be happy for a chance to play with Oggy. However since I was a guest here I ordered my dog to stay at my side.

"And I see you have a Dalish elf with you" the Templar then said.

I couldn't see his face, but his dislike of the Dalish had been clear in this tone of voice. It was somewhat understandable as the Dalish who were outside of the Circle, however that didn't mean I agreed with the way he spoke to Ariane.

"Is that a problem?" I asked

Again I couldn't see his reaction, however judging by the way his shifted on his feet I figured he'd just realised that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be so rude to someone who was in the company of the Hero of Felderan. I'd killed people and things far more dangerous than any Templar.

"The Circle is glad to have you as a guest" the man in a much more polite tone of voice "As you can see, things are much changed from when you were last here".

There were no abominations for starters or dead bodies. But I got the impression was actually taking about how the tower was a much more open place than it used to be.

"Where's Greagoir?" I enquired.

The high ranking Templar liked me somewhat and getting his permission to use the library should make things easier for me.

"Knight-Commander Greagoir is in Denerim, attending to some important business," the Templar said as he took off his helmet "My name is Knight-Captain Hadley. I lead the Templars in the knight-commander's absence".

I decided to introduce myself, even though I was sure he knew exactly who I was.

"My name is Gothic" I told him needlessly "Commander of the Grey, ruler of Vigil's Keep and the Arling of Amaranthine".

One of these days I'd learn to remind people of my rank at the start of a conversation. I was an Arl which meant I was a high ranking noble, and I was the commander of an entire army.

"Yes I know who you are" the Knight-Captain said

What followed was a moment of awkward silence.

"How may I help you sir?" the Templar then asked.

There was no sense beating around the bush.

"I need to look something up in the library" I told the Templar.

The Knight-Captain happily granted me entry, and I suspected that he was happy mostly because it meant I'd go away.

As soon as we got into the library I ran into someone I'd not seen for more than a year.

"You! Did you come to visit?" a female dwarf asked me "Did you like my comprehensive theory of how lyrium vapours relate to the supply of magic?".

Dagna was a dwarf who I had helped during the Blight. All I'd done was stop by the Circle on my way back to Denurim after securing the aid of dwarves, to request that they accept Dagna into their ranks. Since then she'd written to me often and never once I had understood anything she put in a letter other than the parts that thanked me. I'd written back of course, and regretted it as it had led to more letters that went on about things I didn't simply didn't understand.

Somehow the young dwarven woman was able to talk without the need to breathe so it took me the better part of a fives minute just to calm her down enough to explain that I was here on Grey Warden business, and not she her. Not that I actually was here on Warden business, but telling her that got her to leave me alone.

"Look at all these books!" said Ariane in awe once we had gotten the chance to look around "I've never seen so many".

The collection was impressive. More so than any other I'd seen in this Kingdom. Even the Keep's library had only a fraction of the books here. If I'd been able to invent the printing press that would have changed, but that had been one project the dwarves hadn't been able to help me with.

They were too busy retaking the Deep Roads, which had made been possible thanks to me introducing firearms to this world. Here they used Lyrim Dust rather than gunpowder, and the weapons were enchanted so they were very effective against Darkspawn. I'd even heard rumours that they had some cannons now as well.

Still it would takes years if not decades for the dwarves to regain what they had lost as they didn't have a large enough army to drive out the Spawn. However I remained hopefully that future generations would never know the horror of a Blight.

"We might have a problem trying to find the book we need," I said as I looked around the library.

With some assistance from an apprentice we were able find a book on elven artifacts. Unfortunately the book was an elven so I had no idea what the text was about.

"I recognise one of the symbols!" Ariane cheered "I think it makes up part of the word 'Eluvian!'"

That was something I'd have to take on faith as it all looked like scribbles to me.

"Is this like the book you lost?" I asked,

She gave me an answer right away.

"Similar" she told me "but the script is different."

She started looking around for something.

"This is a library, isn't it?" she then said "Perhaps another book could help us translate this".

After even more looking we found a translation book. Ariane used it to locate the pages that referenced the eluvian. Sadly we weren't left to work in piece.

"Whoa! Who let a dog in here? And what are you doing? Be careful!" someone called out.

I gave the mage who interrupted us a glare.

"You.. you look.. er.. like you could probably squash me like a gnat" the young man said "but I can't just sit by while you mishandle innocent tomes!".

I didn't think we'd been mishandling anything.

"You're bending the book too much!" the mage protested "It'll crack the spine and cause the pages to all out!"

He was overreacting.

"We're in the middle of something important" the Dalish elf said.

I figured then that this lad could be useful

"Are you familiar with this book?" I asked.

The mage looked the tomb.

"Hmmm… Eluvians" he muttered before address us "No one's actually found one, you know?".

I had a vague memory of one being involved in the start of the game if you played as Dalish elf, but other than that I was clueless on the matter.

"You know what a Eluvian is?" Ariane asked in disbelief.

The mage nodded

"It's old elvish for 'seeing glass' or 'mirror'" he told her.

Ariane looked at me.

"How do two shemlan know more about this than the Keeper?" she wondered.

I couldn't answer that question without raising a lot more question so I didn't bother to reply.

'Eluvian' isn't just any mirror, it's a special kind" the mage was now saying "When the Imperium sacked Arlathan, they took these mirrors and tried to unlock their power. But all they could use them for was communication, over long distances".

Now I was sure they could be used for some form of transportation as well. If that was the case then it made sense that the Tevinter Mages would want them badly enough to sack an elven city. Back then the elves had been much more formidable so it would have been a costly battle.

"Why would Morrigan be interested in that?" Ariane wondered.

I had a theory. She wanted to go somewhere far away, perhaps even to another world in order to escape her mother.

"Maybe she needs to talk to someone?" the mage suggested.

Ariane looked deep in thought.

"My people crossed paths with another Dalish clan not too long ago" she told us two humans "Two of their young hunters encountered a strange mirror in some ruins. One disappeared the other became deathly ill and died".

The Mage was oddly happy to hear that.

"But what became of the mirror?" he asked excitedly.

I was pretty sure I knew, but since I shouldn't know I kept my mouth shut on the subject.

"Shattered. Destroyed" the Dalish Hunter answered.

The Mage gasped

"Why?" he then asked

"It was corrupted by the darkspawn, beyond hope of recovery" she explained

The mage wasn't too disheartened.

"Even broken, it could be used to find the others" he said "No, don't get ahead of yourself, Finn, you have to sure".

I resisted the urge to pressure this Finn for more information. Stressed out mages were rarely helpful and upsetting them could led to demonic possession.

"What? What do you know?" Ariane asked.

Finn looked ready to start dancing.

"This is so exciting!" he declared "We have to get to the repository. Come on Knight-Captain Hadley has the key.

We had to run to keep up the with eager mage.

"Hadley! Just the man I was looking for," Finn said when we found the Templar "I… eh… need to go into the repository".

The mage's hopes were soon dashed.

"No," Hadley said flatly.

I was sure I could convince if he given the chance to speak.

"No?" Flinn replied "Why not? I'm not some drooling apprentice."

Hadley shook his head.

"The sentinels have been behaving erratically, so the repository is locked for everyone's safety" the Templar explained.

Finn sighed.

"Well then… uh… sorry for bothering you" the mage then said.

I decided that I would handle this.

"If you let us go down there I will deal with the sentinels" I offered.

Maker knew I'd dealt with worse.

"The repository isn't crucial to the daily functioning of the Circle, so we've left it until we can spare more men" the Templar "There's no sense in risking your lives".

I snorted.

"Come on I killed an Arch-demon" I reminded the Knight-Captain "I can handle a few broken guards".

Hadley sighed, and handed the key over.

"Very well, on your own heads be it" he said "But before you go, what's so important down there?".

That was something I also wanted to know.

"The statue." Finn explained "It knows things about Tevinter, and I need to speak to it".

Hadley looked concerned. Which was understandable as anything connected to Tevinter was considered suspect at the very least.

"Its connected to my mission" I told the Templar "This could very led to us to someone who maybe a great threat to Felderan".

Which was sort of the truth.

"All right" Hadley said "Please be careful, and try to keep the mess to a minimum".

That was not something I could promise. Things and people tended to die around me, sometimes they even exploded.

(Line Break)

 **Repository**

"So you want to talk to a statue?" the Dalish Hunter asked.

Ariane looked at Finn strangely when the mage nodded.

"You do know that talking to inanimate objects is a sign of insanity" she said.

I wondered if these two would ever get together. They were both red heads, and they both seemed to have a passion for ancient elven stuff.

"Not when it talks back" Finn replied.

Ariane looked sceptical.

"You think this statue talks to you?" she asked.

That wasn't at all strange to me. I'd encountered two talking statues in the Wending Woods, and they'd been no where near as odd as that rhyming tree I'd encountered when trying to deal with the werewolves.

"It's complicated" said Finn after a while "It wasn't always a statue. You'll see."

The sentinels attacked us before they'd gone halfway down the corridor. I dispatched them easily as while I wasn't the warrior I had once been I was still pretty bad ass.

Once the guardian of this place we down I notice something that gave me a bad feeling.

"That's a tear in the Veil" Finn told us "Something from the Fade is influencing the sentinels. We have to deal with this!"

That was easier said than done.

"I saw something like this before in Blackmarsh" I told the mage and the elf "the only way to close them is to defeat the demon who made the rip in the veil".

Which involved entering the Fade, and that was something I didn't want to do as I was now vulnerable to demonic possession due not being connected to a Spirit.

"What happened in Blackmarsh?" Ariane asked curiously.

That was a story for another time. I didn't want to get into now and lucky for me Flinn proved a distraction by closing the rip in the Veil with an impressive bit of magic.

"Just something I read about in a book" he told us.

I was pretty sure that normal mages couldn't do that, and I figured that Wynn wasn't the only mage in the Circle to have a Spirit watching over her. But I decided not to talk about that as few people understood that while demons and spirits were the same beings in a sense, the spirits meant us no harm. If the Templars suspected that something from the Fade was connected to Finn they wouldn't care if it was a demon or not they would just kill him.

Once we had moved on we soon found all the magical itsm that the Templars at had stored in the repository, including the statue we sought.

 _"The prison is breached. I see the encroaching darkness"._

Ariane was rendered speechless.

 _"The shadow will consume all"_

I so didn't like the sound of what the statue had just told us.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

 _"A hunger, a cage, a yawning void… help me…"_

"Something is causing it distress" Flinn reasoned "The rips in the Veil, most likely".

It took some doing, but we are able to locate the tears in the Veil and close them.

"That's the last of them" said Finn once our task was done "The sentinels should stop trying to kill us now".

Not that I really mattered, they'd been no match for me.

"Then let's head back to the statue," said the Dalish hunter.

We quickly made our way back towards the statue and Flinn spoke to it once more.

"Are you all right?" Flinn asked the statue. "You seemed distressed, earlier".

This time Ariane was not silent.

"Are you really asking the statue if it's all right?" she said "I mean it's made of stone! Short of a hammer and chisel, nothing will hurt it".

Clearly she'd never met Shale. I had, so I knew that there were a few things that could hurt someone made of stone and not all of them were physical things.

 _"The darkness recedes, for now"_

Flinn thankfully got on with things.

"We know where a broken Eluvian lies" he said "Can it still be used to find the others?"

The answer was less then helpful.

 _"Scry. The broken glass, dagger-sharp, will be your key"_

"Broken glass?" Flinn asked. "From the mirror?"

At least someone understood that.

 _"The Lights of Arlathan will illuminate the scryer's path. The archons possessed them, but they were misused, befouled, and lost, like so much the Imperium touched. Some were saved, carried away. Their sorrow awoke the Stone, and her children sheltered them. They found a sanctuary in the deep halls of Cad'halash, now known as Cadash. There the Lights of Arlathan lie, shielded from unworthy eyes"_

"Oh not Cadash Thaig?" I moaned "It is overrun with darkspawn".

The Dalish woman had focused on something else we'd just been told.

"The statue mentioned the children of the Stone" she said "I never know that the durgen'len ever aided my people".

The statue spoke again.

 _"Goodbye Finn. We will not speak again"_

Finn stared at the statue.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

The statue did not reply.

"Why do you think it meant when it said 'we will not speak again?" he asked before answering his own question "I'm not gonna die, am I?"

I decided to reassure the mage.

"Maybe it just meant you won't come down here again" I said "or that someone might destroy the statue".

Ariane changed to subject rather rapidly.

"Now mage, tell us what's going on" she demanded.

Finn gestured excitedly as he spoke.

"The Eluvians are linked" he explained "All of them. If you have one, you can find the others, if they still exist. But the one you know of is broken, and corrupted. So we need something else to… amplify the magic I guess"

Or possibly to purify what remained of the tainted Eluvian.

"These Lights of Arlathan?" I asked.

I'd never heard of them but some fancy magic lights might remove Darkspawn taint, or guide to an untainted magic mirror.

"Yes," Finn said "We'll need to find a shard of the tainted mirror and the lanterns, then I'll be able to help you find the eluvian".

Which should in turn led to us Morrigan, and to my child.

"Wait so your coming with us?" Ariane said to Finn before turning to me "Can he?".

Having a mage in the party was always a good thing so I would welcome his help in our quest.

"I can conscript people when I need to" I told Finn "Its part of being a Grey Warden. But you'll have to come back after or undergo the Joining. I have enough Mages back at Keep the Templars won't like it if I don't bring you back, but the option to become a Warden will be yours".

I only needed Flinn's aid for as long as it took to find Morrigan. Once that was done he would be of no further use to me, but it was good to give people options.

(Line Break)

 **Elven Ruins**

Without realising it I was fiddling with the ring that Morrigan had given me so long ago.

"That ring," Ariane said "You play with it often".

I'd always kept it close, but it wasn't until after the Spirit of Leadership left me that it had become important, or at least important enough to travel across the countryside with it.

"Morrigan gave it to me" I told the Dalish Hunter

It didn't look like anything special, its value was mostly sentimental since I couldn't use its magic.

"A ring like that is significant in human culture, does that not mean…?" the elf woman asked.

I shook my head.

"She was never my wife" I explained "Morrigan told me that as long as I have it she would be able to sense how I was doing and that she could track me using her ring. Sadly it doesn't work for me I think I feel something sometimes, but I don't know."

Ariane gave me sympathetic look.

"She is such a hold on you" she then said "We'll find her. You have my word. The ancient Eluvians will be our key".

It wasn't really Morrigan I was looking for, she was part of why I was doing this but I was also at least curious about the child, and I missed her too. It was kinda pitiful really ever since I'd lost the Spirit of Leadership I just hadn't been myself. Or maybe I was myself once again and I was just trying to find some new meaning in my life.

"Darkspawn!" I suddenly called out.

I could sense them, and as they got closer I could tell that they weren't many. I then gestured for Ariane and Finn to stay back. I took out the sword Alexander the dragon god had made for me using part of a dead dragon and his own divine blood.

With this magical weapon killing the Darkspawn was an easy task. They came at me one at a time and just I cut them down. The sword burned them as they died and that left a nasty stink in the air.

"There's more ahead" I warned.

An arrow clattered to the ground after hitting my armour. I charged at the archer, a genlock, and it just stood there looking dumbfounded even as I swung my sword and removed it heads. Then I went after the remaining few monsters.

Now I could sense no more of the 'spawn and soon we found the mirror. I wasn't impressed as it looked like nothing more than a big mirrior.

"I can't believe this is one of the Eluvians" said Flinn, who clearly was impressed "It's magnificent".

As luck would have it I found shard that didn't have the feel of taint within it.

"Okay we have the shard of the Eluvian, but we still need the Lights of Arlathan" Flinn said "Back at the Circle you indicated that you knew something about Cadash Thaig?"

In fact I knew a lot about the place, and that was something I could talk to them about once were back on the road.

(Line Break)

 **Orzammar**

We reached Orzammar just as all the merchants were closing up ship and that meant we wouldn't be able to resupply until morning. So I got to introduce Ariane and Finn to the Tapster's Tavern, the only inn Orzammar with human sized beds. The city wasn't as open to humans as it had been before the last Blight, but the dwarves greatly respected the Grey Wardens and me personally so I, along with my two new companions were allowed entry into the city.

By the time we got to the Inn the locals had already started drinking and singing.

 _"Ooohh, I've heard of dwarves who get in fights 'bout every time they drink,_ _And those who need to have a woman just to help them think,_ _And if you want to see a dwarf whine and beg and plead,_ _Just pour out all his ale and take away his mead!_

 _There's never been a Paragon of Wisdom or of Thinking,_ _And though I tried a time or two, I ne'r got raised for stinking,_ _But hang around here long enough and don't you go a blinking,_ ' _Cuz someday I am gonna be the Paragon of Drinking!"_

"Do you any idea what that song was about?" Finn asked me.

I'd heard it before, but it was sung in dwarfish so I had no idea what the words of the song were.

"Not a clue" I answered.

The mage frowned in disappointment upon hearing that.

"Are you alright?" the Dalish Hunter wondered "You've been quiet since we arrived".

I had mostly been living in the past since we'd gotten to this city. This place had not been good to me, the nobles here were worse than the human ones on the surface, and then there was what had happened down in the Deep Roads. Destroying the Anvil had been the right choice to make, yet sometimes I had to wonder what I could have done with an army of golems.

"Don't worry" I assured the elf "I've been to the Deep Roads before, I'm sure I can manage to do it again" I'm more worried about you to. I'm immune to the taint, but you two will have to be very careful, especially if we run into darkspawn. If you get infected by their blood I'll have to put you down".

Back when I'd still had the spirit within me I had been capable of removing the taint, that wasn't the case anymore.

"We'll be careful" the hunter assured me "We'll hang back and let you do most of the fighting".

That was wiser than it sounded. I had magical armour and weapons, years of experience dealing with the 'spawn plus I was already tainted so Darkspawn blood couldn't harm me.

"I for one want to die of old age, not darkspawn taint" Flin said.

Hopefully he would.

"Come on let's go to bed" I decided "We're going to be heading in the Deep Roads in the morning so you need to be rested and we'll need to resupply. We could be gone for weeks".

Felderan was about the same size as England and while the Deep Roads were direct it was still along way to walk. Also while the dwarves were driving the Spawn out there were still a lot of the monsters out there and we could find ourselves in the middle of a battle field if we weren't careful.

(Line Break)

 **Cadash Thaig**

By the time we reached Cadash Thaig, Finn and Ariane were getting along rather well. I figured they'd be doing it before long. Assuming of course any of us got out of the Deep Roads alive.

"I'm not sure I like this place" Flinn was saying "Fewer darkspawn than expected, but it feels like we're being watched".

I got the sense too, but it wasn't the 'spawn watching us. There were some about, I could feel them, but they weren't in great numbers or that close.

"I've been here before" I said "Its not changed".

Partly I was still in the past. Watching my old friends and I battle through gangs of darkspawn in order to uncover Shale's past. I'd led the way, my dragon armour inspiring fear in the darkspawn and my sword had cut them down with such ease.

"Right. So, I've… uh, been going through my old notes" Flinn was now saying.

The Dalish Hunter had to encourage him to keep speaking.

"And?" she asked.

It took a few moments to answer.

"And I came across this footnote" he told us "Apparently, the elves would magically conceal relics of great significance, thus shielding them from unworthy eyes. And given what the Tevinters did, I'd say humans count as unworthy".

Ariana grunted in a way that told me she agreed with statement.

"So the Lights of Arlathan are under this enchantment?" I asked.

Flinn nodded.

"That's my hypothesis" he said "but they might just be buried in the ground".

He looked around, his eyes wide as he took in the dwarven ruins.

"It looks as if Cadash Thaig was built upon the ruins of Cad'halash" the mage went on to say "The Lights of Arlathan could be miles below us".

Hopefully that wasn't the case.

"If the elves concealed the relics with magic, only the blood of their kin will reveal them" the mage then said.

Finn inhaled deeply before saying anything else.

"Ariane" he said softly "We're going to need your blood".

Naturally she was unsettled to hear that.

"Excuse me?" she questioned.

Flinn looked nervous now.

"Just a few drops" he said "that's all".

I also was concerned.

"Is this blood magic?" I asked.

Unlike what the Chantry might say I knew that magic wasn't good or evil, but certain kinds of magic involved doing evil things and that was what led to corruption. Even a simple blood spell could be the start of a one way trip to damnation.

"The spell doesn't get its power from the blood" Flinn told me "it just uses the blood as a focus. It's kind of a grey area".

That wasn't too bad.

"Why my blood?" Ariane wished to know.

Finn turned to her.

"You share the same blood as the Arlathan elves" he explained "so you're the only one this enchantment might recognise".

Ariane sighed.

"Fine" she said "Just be as gentle as you can".

Now it was starting to sound as if they were going to do something involving bodily fluids of a different kind.

"I'll… be gentle" Finn promised.

She held out her hand, and Finn took out a small dagger. He then drew some of the red stuff and waved his free hand over the blooded dagger.

"My spell will reveal areas of magic" the mage then informed me "Standing in them should allow us to see the energy being drawn to the relics, which will lead us to them".

To me that sounded fine, but the Dalish Hunter was less sure judging by the look on her face.

"It's perfectly safe" Finn assured us "Well mostly. Once we reach the influence of the Lights, Ariane's blood will unveil them. But we have to be close".

As it turned out the lights of Arlathan were actual lanterns and going near them seemed to be attracting old elven guardians, and we were forced to destroy them much to Ariane's dismay.

"I wish we could have talked to these guardians instead of having to slay them" the Dalish woman said sadly "imagine what the things they could have told us".

They were souls, bound to the form of warriors long dead. An elven version of golems I guessed. Even if they had spoken, it was unlikely it would be in a language we would understand. Even Flinn only a knew of few ancient elven words.

"Right so we have the shard of the Eluvian, and the Lights of Arlathan" I said once the fighting was done "Now all Flinn has to do is scry for an unbroken mirror".

As quests went this one was going rather well.

"I saw a suitable place for the ritual not too far from here" Flinn said.

He quickly led us a dais.

"This should work. Now, there is going to be a lot of magical energy involved in this ritual" the Circle member told us. It's going to attract… things".

I assumed he meant things from the Fade. Powerful magic always involved the Fade, and it was rarely a safe.

"What kind of things?" Ariane asked.

Judging by the look on her face she had already guessed and was now just seek confirmation of her fears.

"Scary things" Finn replied "Like demons"

When the spell began I drew my sword as Ariane also took out her weapons. Meanwhile Finn drove his staff into the ground and then he gripped it with both hands.

"Ready?" the mage asked.

I nodded my head.

"Ready" Ariane said.

As the mage drew from the energies of the Fade, the world seemed to slow down slightly as physical reality and the realm of the unreal merged.

As the battle started I could see that Ariane was trying to hold her own. She was doing well until a second shade appeared near her. It passed by her almost managing to reach Finn, but then I was driving my dragon bone sword into the demon.

Then just as it looked as if we'd have a proper battle all the demons phased away and the reality we lived in became the only one we could see.

"Phew!" Finn looked down at himself "Am I bleeding? Oh look, a rip in my robe".

Ariane shook her head, and laughed.

"Did the ritual work?" I asked.

The mage nodded.

"I've pinpointed another Eluvian. It's in the Dragonbone Wastes" we were told "The Tevinters probably moved it there to see if the ancient dragon bones could enhance the Eluvian's power".

Now I was confused.

"I've been there before" I told my two companions "I didn't see any mirror".

Granted at the time I'd been battling the 'spawn so I hadn't exactly had time to have a proper look around, but still I should have noticed a sodding magic.

"It might be hidden" Finn mused as rubbed his chin. "Or maybe it will only appear to those who know its location".

The lanterns had been hidden and we'd found those, perhaps we would be able to duplicate that success.

"What happens when we find it?" the Dalish hunter wondered.

I answered this question.

"For starters we can examine the mirror" I said "It might give clues to what Morrigan's doing. If she's looking for the Eluvians as well, she might even be there".

There couldn't be that many magic mirrors around, and even if she wasn't in the Dragonbones Wastes we might be able to use that Eluvian to go to where she was.

(Line Break)

 **Dragonbone Wastes**

The Dragonbone Wastes were just as eerie as I remembered due to it being the dragon version of an elephant's graveyard. Skeletal remains were everywhere and the land was lifeless, they weren't even any vermin skittering around. Plus it was rather dark here considering the time of day.

Thankfully this time it wasn't overrun by the Mother's darkspawn, which was nice. Those Children things had been super creepy.

"We're here. Keep your eye open for dragons, and mirrors" Finn whispered.

I almost added: and Darkspawn, but I could sense nothing tainted here, but that didn't mean I dropped my guard as there could be a dragon around here that fancied us as dinner.

Rather than encounter a dragon we found people, they had been rather sneaky despite being heavily armed and armoured. I'd hadn't seen or heard them coming, however they didn't attack us. In fact they bowed before me and called me lord.

"Okay, this is new" I said as we escorted by a large mob of people into what looked a half built temple "I've never been adored this much before".

It was both cool and a bit scary.

"I've never even met dragon worshippers before," said Finn. "Not much the small talk, are they?"

Mostly they seemed to be muttering my name and some stuff in yet another language I didn't speak. Clearly they liked me, I just no idea why.

"You should've seen the Disciples of Andraste, now they were crazy" I told the others.

Although their faith had still made more sense than Scientology.

"Why do people even worship dragons?" Ariane asked.

Flinn answered that question.

"Dragons are big, powerful, and they breathe fire. Some people are easily impressed" Finn supplied.

The head cultist, who looked somewhat like priest, gestured to a statue of a dragon and then read out loud what it said on the plinth below.

 _"O ith, svaust xurwka wer darastrix, vur wer nif svant di wer darastrix,_  
 _vur majaka ekess ve wer sepa di vi darastrix; batobot tuoric ve ekess wiap,_  
 _origato ve vaeri irsa dout kaden karif putole wer flenruid di edar,_  
 _origato ve tiichi persvek sia ibahalii, origato ve ti oontanx ista!_  
 _origato ve eligne sia tiichi mrith sia jesk vur gix,_  
 _origato sia kihletnia kornari shala kilith, origato batobot qe thric drepirn!_  
 _origato ve tepoha wer lilbhiahin di shio wer qanescir aurix si kurjh,_  
 _origato thric nuwa'jimos jaseve nugriup de sia kivan._  
 _vur, ith, jalla wer rigluin confn vur si qe relgra ekess slathalin,_  
 _darastrix xurwkar, shala ve ekess ultrinninan, vur ithquent letoclo batobot daron!_

We were then given a translation.

 _"O Lord, who made the dragon, and the open sky of the dragon, And gave to me the soul of a dragon; that desires me to fly,_  
 _Let me dance within your cloud far beyond the limit of Earth,_  
 _Let me praise in my glory, let me not grow vain!_  
 _Let me defend my honor with my fang and claw,_  
 _Let my enraged heart allow mercy, let that be no blemish!_  
 _Let me have the joy of all the shining gold I own,_  
 _Let no hatchling leave hungry from my hoard._  
 _And, Lord, should the need come and I be called to fight,_  
 _Dragon Maker, allow me to win, and God help that knight"_.

I'd heard that before. A long time ago when outside of the Temple of the Ashes.

"They don't worship dragons" I told the mage and the hunter "They worship the god of dragons".

To be more percise Alexander the Dragon god.

"She told us you would come Father of Kieran" the leader of the cult said.

The crowd then cheered.

"Urthemiel reborn!"

I was starting to understand what was happening here, and it made me feel more than a little unsettled.

"The holy mother awaits you below" the cult leader then told me "Go down into the catacombs, my lord".

I had to wrack my brain to figure everything out, but I did. Urthemiel must have been Arch-Demon I'd slain, the tained old god whose soul had been transferred to my child with Morrigan. The child had been born and the old god had been reborn, and he or she was a subject of worship for this dragon cult.

Morrigan was the holy mother, as unlikey as that sounded, and I was the father of the reborn god so they also worshipped me to some degree. Which was very freaky.

(Line Break)

 **Dragonbone Wastes.**

My compainions and I eventually reached the bottom of the catacombs, and there we found the Eluvian. Unlike the previous magic mirror we'd seen this one was intact. Also standing there was Morrigan, but she didn't have a baby with her.

I only barely heard Ariane's whispered request about the book because I was too busy looking at the witch. She was dressed rather regally for someone who normally lived the wilds. She wore a dress of black and purple, which suited her, and she had on some fine jewels. She wouldn't have looked too out of place at a royal ball.

Also she didn't look surprised to see so I assumed she had her ring on her person. In fact it wouldn't have shocked me to find out that she had set things up so that I would come here. The cultists above had know who I was on sight, perhaps they had been expecting me.

Oggy rushed towards and barked excitedly. Morrgain happily rubbed his head. then she turned and looked at me as I approached. When I was about twenty feet away she spoke.

"No further, please" she requested "One more step and I leave. For good, this time".

When I stopped moving she hesitated for a moment and then gestured at the Eluvian.

"I assume you know what this is. I have gone to great lengths to find and activate this portal" she told me "Give me a reason and I will use it. You will not be able to follow"

Despite wanting to move closer I didn't. I was sure that she had at least partly set things up so I would end up meeting her, but that didn't mean she trusted me.

"If you didn't want to see me you'd already have left" I pointed out "You've already used this mirrior thing before so that means you've come back for something".

She admitted the truth of this with a nod.

"Indeed I did. My task is now done I only remained this long because I sensed your approach" she said as her voice softened "You kept the ring".

It couldn't be seen as I was wearing armoured gloves, but she didn't need to see to know that I was wearing it.

"Tell me: why did you come?" she asked.

That she even had to ask told me how little she'd changed.

"I will never understand you, and you will never understand me" I said, using words she had spoken to me in the past.

She smiled at me, it was almost a warm one.

"Ask you questions" she bidded.

I did have a few.

"How is our child?" I asked.

I knew our kid's name, but not the gender.

"He is safe, and beyond your reach" she told me "All you need to know is that the child is an innocent. He knows nothing of the destiny that lies before him".

So I had a son, and an important one by the sounds of it.

"My plan is to leave for some years, and to prepare him for what is to come. Such preparation requires time" I was informed "And power. I must have both if I am to be successful and it is being provied. More than this, I dare not say."

She looked away.

"Even to you" she then added.

Given the cult living above this place I had an idea of who was going to give her the power and safety she needed.

"This is the second time I've lost a woman to a diety" I muttered "Its getting annoying".

Morrigan laughed.

"So you figured it out" she said "Yes he offered me a place in his kingdom, but he has many serving him already, he does not desire me for that".

That was nice to hear.

"Okay then take me with you" I requested "I'm done here anyway".

The Blight was over, the Mother was dead and the Spirit had gone. The Wardens in Felderan were stronger than ever and the coming war between Mages and the Templars was something I didn't want to get involved in.

And although I had no idea what special destiny Kieran could have. However he would be better off if he had his father around to help him.

"You… cannot know what you ask" she replied.

I could see small tears in her golden eyes.

"It would be better if you stayed" she told me "this world needs it champion".

I strided up to the magic mirror plot device and Morrigan didn't run, which I took as a good sign.

"I'm done here" I told her again "Its just me now and I'm not needed anymore. Time for someone else to be the champion".

Ariane had the book back now, and a few more judging by the stacks of books around here. She promised to see Finn to his destination safely before returning to her clan. Finn was still staring. Both at me, and at Morrigan, he was so utterly confused.

Oggy whined and then trotted over to Ariana, and I knew it was time to say goodbye, he had chosen to stay in this world. He was smart enough to know that it was time to part ways.

My hand touched the surface of the Eluvian and ripples spread across its surface. I shared a look with the mother of my child and then stepped through to where ever it was this gateway led.


End file.
